PWNER - gerryvz

[gerryvz]

Ahh....yes, that certainly could be something.

I was just topping off the air in the tires a few minutes ago for the trip (pressure was at the 34.5-36 psi level, even after the winter, so the tires are holding air nicely), and did some more investigative work in the engine bay. It appears that the area under the passenger side front of the engine, under the lower radiator hose, is wet on the lower under-engine panel. Can't tell right now if it is grease, or coolant. Running my hand on the ground side/edge of the cladding was inconclusive, but it seems that it could indeed be coolant.

Took the front top engine panel off, and no apparent leaks at the intake manifold, at least from the front. Zero leaks from the heater hoses - those were easy to see in the back of the engine.

A couple of things did give me pause though - a spray pattern on the driver's side ignition cap cover - as shown on the photo below. This is right behind the upper radiator hose connection at the radiator. Nothing wet, and the spray pattern didn't appear wet.

You can see from the other close-up photos of the lower radiator hose on the passenger side, some of the wetness/drops I was talking about on that hose. It is seeming that this could be the problem, though. I don't know why the drops on the hose itself are appearing very green (like green coolant) as I have ALWAYS used the proper straw-colored Zerex coolant in the system.

No leaks from the expansion tank hose connections, for sure. It seems very centered on that lower passenger side area of the front of the engine.

When I get back I'll have to take off the lower cladding, pressure test the system, and really look under there, and see if anything drops onto the ground (will put a pan there to catch anything). That will tell me what any fluids are.

I'll pop the hood when I get to the Dulles Airport parking garage to see if I lost any coolant on the trip there.

Investigative photos below.

Driver's side ignition cover:



Views of vertical and joint areas of lower radiator hose. Dunno why things appear green there, as I have never used green coolant.

 

[gsxr]

Droplets of liquid Green on the driver side may be PAG oil from a leaking AC compressor seal. I've had this happen on multiple different 124's. However, I don't know how this would travel to the passenger side...

 

[TerryA]

@gerryvz'
Gerry, In the past when I had a 1967-230 Sedan I discovered a coolant leak that was easily fixed. What I realized was the when the weather got really cold outside the coolant hose connections actually shrunk and were leaking coolant. If i were you I would go over all of the hose connections especially the ones down low and re-tighten them. That may be all it takes.

 

[emerydc8]

Droplets of liquid Green on the driver side may be PAG oil from a leaking AC compressor seal. I've had this happen on multiple different 124's. However, I don't know how this would travel to the passenger side...

That green spray is strange. Is the condenser more toward the center of the radiator such that the viscous fan could blow it back onto the hose area if PAG oil was leaking from the heat exchanger (condenser)? I can’t think of anything else that would be green unless it’s residue from a cleaner (Simply Green?) that wasn’t completely wiped down?

 

[gerryvz]

Yeah, I'm going to have to remove the lower cladding and pressure test things.

I did pop the hood and check coolant when I arrived at the Dulles Airport garage (65 mile drive) and shook the (blazing hot) expansion tank back and forth - no apparent coolant loss from the trip up there. I'll check things again on Friday AM when I get back into Dulles to see if any coolant disappeared while I was away.

I will say the car (with original suspension front and rear, and old/worn tires) is feeling rather "old." I can't wait to (at some point) revive the suspension and make it feel & drive like a new car again.

I also have an external transmission leak, which I've had for probably the past 10-11 years. It's gradually getting worse. Not to mention, I have been "nursing" the clicking reverse gear for probably 15 years now. I'm up to a 1-1.5 second delay into reverse gear. The transmission is going to have to come out and be rebuilt and re-sealed on the exterior. Dave's Uncle's recent series on 722.3 repair has convinced me that I can 100% do this job. So I will.

Hard to believe I've been babying that reverse gear along for 15 years now - since probably the 90K mile mark (now at 151.8kmi). That reverse-failure-shoe has been a long time a-coming to drop on me.

 

[gerryvz]

Droplets of liquid Green on the driver side may be PAG oil from a leaking AC compressor seal. I've had this happen on multiple different 124's. However, I don't know how this would travel to the passenger side...

I will clean everything off this spring and see if / what comes back in terms of any spray anywhere. The compressor was replaced with a new unit in 2020, and doesn't have that many miles on it. Not to mention that the system is still very tight - no refrigerant leakage and still blowing very cold. Which reminds me.... I have a new compressor that I need to install on the SEC (R-12).

 

[gsxr]

Ah, ok, with a new compressor it's unlikely to be PAG oil. You'll find oil droplets at the lower edge of the clutch/pulley area if this is leaking, but I really doubt it. Note that the old/original compressors can leak out quite a bit of PAG oil without leaking any refrigerant, and will still blow cold! I've got at least 3 of my cars that need compressor replacements due to this front shaft seal leak... sigh.

 

[Jouser]

On my E300D - I had a c-clip literally pop off my compressor and splattered that green oil all over (mostly the ground). Your photo brings back memories - and tonight: NIGHTMARES!

 

[gerryvz]

Yeah, the lower radiator hose is on the other side of the engine compartment than the A/C compressor, so I don't think it's related. All good though - I have a cooling system pressure tester and we'll find the issue. Perhaps a good diagnostic HOW-TO.....

 

[gerryvz]

No coolant leakage at the Dulles parking garage, or after I returned home.

 

[gerryvz]

I ordered a couple of weeks ago two new rear tires for my E500. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S that I had installed back in 2018, were heavily worn on the inside edges, and beginning to show cords on one tire. So, they weren't safe to drive any longer for the long trips to Dulles Airport or into Washington DC that I often use the E500 for. I ordered the same exact tire, in the same size (275/35-18). I also run this same tire, though a different size, on my 2007 E63 AMG, which were new in 2022.

Today I had the new Michelins mounted and balanced. The tires were ~$650 for two at Tire Rack, and mounting and balancing was around $225 at a local Euro import shop. I got just over 12K miles on the rears.

The wear on the inside edges is due to the wider (9-inch) AMG Mono II wheels that I have installed, which tweak the camber from that of the stock (narrower) wheels. I do have adjustable factory arms that can compensate for this, but have been saving them (along with all of the other rear control arms) for a comprehensive, subframe-down rear suspension refresh......someday.

Other than that, I would say the tires were around 60% worn in the main part of the treads, toward the outside. Still some to go before the wear bars, but they were shot. Given the fronts are also 8 years old (I had installed the set of four back in 2018), they are probably in need of replacement as well, but they wear more evenly.

 

[TerryA]

@gerryvz,
Gerry, I ran a set of Michelin 285/35-18s to 25K miles and never saw any bare threads and now I’m on a second set but reduced to 275/35-18s with no threads showing. I’m not sure of the mileage on them but they need replacement due to cracking and age.

My rims are off of a 2004 SL500 I’m not sure of the offset but they are 8” front and 9” rear’s and with the tires fill out the fender wells to my satisfaction anyway.

I don’t understand why your inside treads are showing. I run about 32psi front and 34psi in the rear with no problems so far.

I also had a 4wheel alignment done when I changed out the tie rods, steering damper and sway bar bushings on the front suspension

 

[gsxr]

Gerry, do you have any rear camber correction components installed? That will reduce or eliminate the wear on the inside of the rear tyres.

 

[sheward]

He noted in his post he has camber correction arms that he is waiting to install. I experienced the same tire wear up front although that was due to lowering springs which were excessively low.
Some of the difference in tire milage could be due to different spring pads installed and driving style. I seem to remember Gerry changing spring pads way back. Tire age could also be a factor as you have noted. I'd be surprised if anyone got more than about 25,000 miles on the soft Michelins.

 

[gsxr]

He noted in his post he has camber correction arms that he is waiting to install. I experienced the same tire wear up front although that was due to lowering springs which were excessively low.

OOOPS! I missed that sentence.

Gerry, what adjustable "factory arms" do you have? I'm not aware of any.

 

[gerryvz]

OOOPS! I missed that sentence.

Gerry, what adjustable "factory arms" do you have? I'm not aware of any.

I believe they are the eccentric factory arms, which use the elliptical bolt to adjust to achieve a proper camber setting. As I mentioned, they are NOT installed on my car.

It is not at all unusual to have somewhat premature inside tire wear on a stock suspension, when using wider than stock wheels (my AMG Mono IIs are indeed 9" on the rear ... staggered setup).

 

[gsxr]

There is a factory eccentric bushing available for the tie rod, which allows extra toe adjustment, needed if installing the shortened RDM TEK rear LCA's. However, this does not adjust camber. I'm not aware of any other factory component which allows adjustment of any rear link, besides that one specific bushing for toe.

The excessive wear is normal with wide rear wheels/tires and stock rear suspension, but reducing rear camber from the usual -2.5° closer to only -1.0° makes the wide rear tires wear evenly. The cars I have with rear camber correction have no issues with wearing the inner edge of 285's.

Since the RDM TEK LCA's are NLA (and require the eccentric toe bushing), I now prefer the Megan Racing adjustable camber arm. This can be dialed to whatever rear camber you want, and the eccentric toe bushing is NOT needed.